Remarks to a Group of Scientists on the 20th Anniversary of Dr. Enrico Fermi's Nuclear Experiment.

I WANT to express a very warm welcome to all of you. This was a historic occasion and represented a good many years of work by Dr. Fermi and also by those who were associated with him intimately, and also those who, working in other countries in other times, had helped build this pyramid step by step, which finally led to this successful culmination of his efforts and those of you and others in your field.

This development which played a significant role, and really has played a significant role in our history and in our lives ever since, can be either good or bad depending on the use to which it is put. And it is the obligation of those who bear positions of responsibility in the various governments of the world to make sure that it's put to good use.

We are very much indebted to you. And I think it's appropriate to recall Dr. Fermi in this way. And also to hail the intimate alliance between government and science which has come about since 1942 and which has produced so many extraordinary developments of benefit to people.

I hope that all of you feel that the work that you've done, as I'm sure you do, is in the direction of the progress of mankind. As I have said, it is up to all of us working together to make sure that it continues to move along that even channel.

So we're delighted to have you at the White House. We are very glad, particularly, to have as our guest the Ambassador from Italy, who represents his people here, and he represents actually the genius of Italy himself as well as symbolizing the very close relations between Italy and the United States. Mr. Ambassador, we are very glad to have you here.